Hidden Archive is a multimedia documentation project aimed at recovering and dignifying the memory of borderland communities in the Sonoran Desert. The collection is developed around three main thematic lines.

The first focuses on the direct or indirect recording of economic activities and cross-border movements—such as smuggling and migration—that, while often criminalized, are fundamental to local identity.

The second line centers on the preservation of the memory of communities living in remote or sparsely populated border regions, whose rich cultural heritage is often excluded from official records.

The third theme addresses the documentation of ecological degradation processes in the binational Sonoran Desert region, including the disappearance of places and the loss of biodiversity.

The archive houses materials originally produced by Altar Centro de Investigación, as well as digitized versions of photographs and historical documents from municipal or family archives in the region.

If you have photographs or documents you would like to contribute to the Hidden Archive collection, click here.

The Restoration Laboratory is a space dedicated to testing socio-environmental restoration strategies. It is founded on a commitment to the preservation of arid lands which, despite harboring rich biodiversity, have historically been treated as sacrifice zones.

This program is organized around Territorial Responses, interventions rooted in specific contexts that aim to address particular challenges. These actions typically combine ecological restoration methods—such as the propagation of selected plant species or the construction of anti-erosion structures—with critical artistic strategies.

The Laboratory also serves as an educational space that fosters knowledge and a sense of belonging in the desert. It offers hands-on workshops focused on recovering and implementing sustainable and autonomous ways of inhabiting this region.

Research and Ideas is an independent space for the production of empirical knowledge, the testing of new concepts, and the articulation of theoretical frameworks. It maintains a strictly multidisciplinary approach, drawing from diverse fields such as anthropology, art, architecture, biology, and critical theory.

The initiative is grounded in the belief that a deep rootedness in “the periphery” offers a privileged perspective for observing and understanding contemporary processes that remain inaccessible from the vantage point of the metropolis.

Our main thematic areas of focus include borders, deserts, and the intersections of extraction, violence, and illegality. In addition to producing original publications and materials, Research and Ideas hosts several working groups, including the Sonora-Sahara Workgroup, the Arid Borderlands Research Network, and the Permanent Seminar on the Ethnography of Violence.